Arch-support.



E. A. TRACY.

ARCH SUPPORT,

APPLIOATIQN 211.1111 111111.18, 1909.

Patented Fab. 18, 1913.

EDWARDA. TRACY, or BosToN, MASSACHUSETTS.

ARCH-SUPFORT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 18, 1913.

Application filed March 18, 1909. Serial No. 484,264.

To all whom. it may concern Be it known that. I, EnwAnn A. Timor, a citizen of the United States, residing in Boston, in the county of Sutl'olk and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Arch-Supports, of which the following description,` m connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings representing like parts.

The present invention relates to an arch support of the kind used in shoes, to support a broken down arch, in the case of soealled flat-foot, the purpose of the invention being to improve the sha e of the support so that. it will more ful v conform to the anatomy of the foot, and also to improve thc construction and appearance ot the support.

In the construction shown to illustrate the invention, the support is made with upper and lower members of leather which contain between them the spring which produces the general configuration of the support. In addition to the spring, I employ upper` and lower sup )lementary pieces of leather which inclose tlie spring and project beyond the same, the said supplementary pieces being skived or otherwise varied in thickness, in order to produce the secondary configuration of the surface of the support. By tliis construction, a support is produced which has a slight depression in the higher portion of its surface, thereby conforming to the shape of the foot at this portion, and prcventinfr the tendency of the foot to slide downward` laterally, as is the case with the arch supports constructed of the usual shape.

The lower spring inclosin member, furthermore, is carried forwar(l of the spring, and slightly thickened at that point, thereby affording a support for the anterior arch which is not provided in arch su ports as now made. It is not essential to tie invention that the said forward support should be of the specific construction described, this feature of the invention consisting in providing the support/with a yielding supporting portion flexibly connected with the main portion.

lhe several parts in the construction shown are joined to ether by cement, and also by means of a ine of stitches around the edges of the upper and lower leather portions, these stitches also penetrating parts of the supplementary inner members so that all the parts are held in place by the stitches, as wellv as by the cement.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an arch support embodying the invention, the inner parts being indicated by dotted lines; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the same; and Fig. 3 is a transverse section.

The arch support is made up of upper and lower members a and I) of leather, one,

'or both of which may be skived along the front edge, as indicated at a2, Fig. 2 with respect to member a, and also along the. inner edge, as indicated at a, Fig. 3, so that the. completed support is thin at these points.

That portion of the support which is indicated at a, Figs. 1 and 3, is bent upward. as shown, so as to fit in the inner side of the shoe when the support is in place. The general configuration of thel support is obtained by means of the sprinor c which also serves as a cushion, the said-i spring being located about in the middle of the support, and projecting upward in the middle, as shown.

In-addition to the spring, the supple.- mental portions d and c serve to inclose and to cushion the spring, and also to )reduce minor variations in the shape of tlie supporting surface. The member e extends` under the spring, and is carried forward beyond t-he. t'ront end of the spring in the form of an extension c shaped substantially olf to diti'erent thicknesses as indicated at c, Fig. 2.

The member (l extends over the spring l* projecting laterally beyond the same, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the said member being skived, as indicated at (Z2, so that the upper surface of the member rz is caused to form a hollow a* shown in Fig. 3, this hol low not only conforming better to the anatomy of the toot, but also constituting, in a sense` an anchor which prevents the tendency of t-he foot to slip toward the outer side of the shoe.

The several parts are joined together by cement, and, in order to insure the permanency ot' the arrangement, the upper and lower surface parts a. and are joined along the edge by means of stitches f, these stitches also passing through the part. (.Z at the portion c and through the projecting (itl portion 'efoftlie part 'C.` This insures the permanent location and maintenance of the sup iort, even if-the cement; softens@-V Tie forward support for the anterior arch has a. ieldingsurface,l preferably but not essentia ly provided for as hereinbefore described, and the main' support andv forward support are flexibly connected. together.

Claims.

1.` The herein describediarch su port forv use infshoes, comprisin essentia 1y upper und lower members suita ly united; a spring projectin upwardly inthe middle, and upper and ower sJrmg cushioning members between which tie saring is inclosed, the said cushioning mem ers being secured to each other around the sprin and separately secured to and between t 1e upper and lower members.

V2. The herein described arch support for use in shoes, comprisin essentially upper and lower members suita ly united, a spring projecting upwardly in the middle, and upper und ower s ring cushioning members between which tie s ring is inclosed, the said cushioning members being secured to each other around t e spring and separately secured to and between the upper and lower members, the u per and lower members hav- 5 mg an upwar ly extended flexible portion at one side and substantially op osite the upwardly projecting portion of tie spring.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my nume to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDWARD A. TRACY.

Vitnesses:

M. E. CovENEY, J As. J. MALONEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Iatents, Washington, D. C. 

